Doctoral Training Schemes

Future solar photovoltaic technologies must be competitive enough to withstand market fluctuations, and yet be sustainable in terms of the raw materials and manufacturing methods used. This will demand new approaches, including nanotechnology, low temperature processing and photon engineering coupled with enhancements to emerging thin film and conventional PV device technology.

The Centre will train 70 PhDs to become leaders in both research and industry. It is led by the Universities of Liverpool and Bath, and there is strong industrial support from BAE Systems, Eight19, Echerkon, LSA Ltd, MSolv, NSG, SiliconCPV, Ossila, Oxford PV, PowerVision, Taylor Hobson.

Our ambition for the joint NERC Liverpool - Manchester - NOC Doctoral Training Program in Earth, Ocean and Atmospheres is to train the next generation of environmental scientists to address major challenges in how the Earth system operates.

Research projects are offered within the themes of the atmosphere, ocean, solid Earth and molecular environmental sciences. These research projects draw on the world-class research expertise in our two Russell group universities, Manchester and Liverpool, and our host partner, the National Oceanography Centre.

Our training is tailored to suit the individual needs of each student, drawing on our strength in each research theme, as well as providing a broader environmental overview to the research challenges in environmental sciences.

Our programme is augmented by other government funded and industrial partners providing additional training, work experience and opportunity for placements.

The Centre's focus lies on addressing industrial and societal needs which arise from the rapidly growing complexity of systems of various kinds, their environment and associated risks and uncertainties.

The CDT is supported by 34 industrial partners, non-profit making foundations or national laboratories and 12 overseas university partners. It provides training at the intersection of disciplines such as engineering, mathematics, economics, the environmental sciences and psychology to not only enumerate the risks associated with a particular activity or process, but also to express clearly the meaning of the risk to the general public and decision makers.

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Based at the University of Nottingham, the fundamental and translational research carried out within this world-class Centre will help shape the future national and international AM research agenda.

Its aim is to push forward the development and application of next-generation, multi-material and multifunctional Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing technologies.

The focus of the Centre’s activity is to work closely with businesses to tackle major research challenges, ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of AM and its application in industry. The successful commercial exploitation of the Centre’s research in order to meet industrial and national need for cutting edge, low carbon manufacturing technologies is a key priority.

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We operate in partnership with four other universities including Lancaster, Leeds, Manchester and Sheffield and we work with all the UK’s major industrial and regulatory bodies including Amec, Areva, AWE, EDF, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the National Nuclear Laboratory, Rolls-Royce, and Sellafield Ltd.

Next Generation Nuclear (NGN) offers a range of nuclear related projects across all five of our partner institutions and will carry out research that underpins the safe and extended operation of existing reactors and the future development of safe, secure and sustainable new build nuclear power plant in addition to back end research on spent fuel, decommissioning and waste management.

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Students have access to a range of fusion energy facilities across the UK, including the Central Laser Facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, the MAST and JET tokamaks at Culham in Oxfordshire, advanced materials research facilities, the Orion laser and high performance computing facilities. International links provide access to many other fusion devices around the world.

The combination of world-leading experts and world-class facilities creates an outstanding training environment for the next generation of fusion scientists - the generation who will exploit ITER, NIF and other international experiments to make fusion energy a reality.

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The NWDTC is one of 21 DTCs in the UK and brings together the Universities of Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester. Studentships are available across the full range of social science disciplines and students have access to research expertise across the three constituent Universities.

Our vision is to develop motivated, confident and multi-skilled PhD students, undertaking cutting edge research and tackling environmental science questions of global significance.

Among the Doctoral Training Partnerships funded by the NERC, ACCE is the only DTP with a clear emphasis on the biological component of environmental research. This biological core, combined with the international standing of the partners in the biological and related fields, makes ACCE a natural choice if you wish to undertake a PhD in biological research and related disciplines.

By including related disciplines beyond the biological sciences, ACCE is also able to provide a multidisciplinary environment to the benefit of our students, bringing together biologists, mathematicians, engineers, geoscientists, analytical chemists, archaeologists and policy experts.

Our PhD students will not only graduate as excellent scientists, but also graduate with skills much sought after in today’s job market.

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At the heart of the Centre is a team of 50 graduates working on intensive three-year long collaborative research and development projects with North West SMEs. The graduates use these collaborations as the basis of a PhD programme of study and are supported by senior academic members of staff, all internationally-recognised experts in their fields.

In addition to these projects, the Centre provides opportunities for up to 235 additional companies in the Northwest to be supported in their development of new products and services with positive environmental benefits for the global marketplace through shorter (3-6 month) collaborations with a partner university.

By providing structured and supported collaboration, the Centre supports business growth and helps companies overcome barriers to innovation identified by Government. The Centre also acts as a significant demonstrator of the benefits R&D collaborations between universities and small-to-medium sized businesses.

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